After being on the receiving end of a humbling 381-run defeat at the hands of Australia, it's easy to imagine the mood in the England camp being decidedly sombre, with work needed to improve in time for the second Test in Adelaide next week.

In all of the disappointment, however, one milestone has gone largely unnoticed by the world at large.

Graeme Swann’s dismissal of George Bailey on the Test’s third day saw him become England’s fastest bowler to reach 250 test wickets. The feat has come in four years and 347 days, and beat Ian Botham’s record of five years and 107 days.

His 250 wickets have come from 58 matches, at an average of 29.18. His test-best figures came in 2010, spinning 6-65 against Pakistan at Edgbaston. He has gone on and taken Test five wicket hauls on 17 occasions, against all of the full member nations bar Zimbabwe.

 Swann’s Test debut came in Chennai in 2008, and his first wickets were of some note. In his maiden innings, he accounted for Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid, the second Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman.

If that wasn’t special enough, the wickets of Gambhir and Dravid came with his third and sixth delivery respectively, making Swann only the second player in Test history to take two wickets in his first over.

England ultimately lost the match by six wickets, but Swann had four of the biggest scalps in international cricket to his name.  He will be hoping for a strong reaction through the rest of the Ashes Tests, and secure the urn for another 18 months.